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Just my own daft opinion but I am not a fan of any of these courses. In my mind, music is intuitive and you can't learn to feel something you don't. Not expecting anyone to agree with me but that remains my view.

Well after 20 odd years playing Bass on and off i've decided to concentrate on Guitar....always had an Acoustic knocking about and learnt some fingerstyle ect, but bought an 80s Epiphone LP Standard a few months ago and little Blackstar 10w practice amp and find it much more enjoyable....really tried to up my game with the Bass learning theory but the big mistake came after enrolling on Joe Hubbards 2 Year Bass Mastery Course (at great expense) took the risk hoping this would make me focus and better my playing but been a non reader it went straight over my head and the endless meaningless drills just bored the tits off me, i'm just not a Jazz/Improve player just not good enough.....give me some good ol' 70s power chord Blues/Rock classics and some 80s Metal and it's happy days, wishing you all the best i've enjoyed the Forum it's been great but always deep down wanted to learn Guitar and progressing quite well.

The fretting process is very similar to @Fishman 's Wal save, only difference being the fretwire (Evo Gold coiled as opposed to Nickel Silver straight) and that it is being done before attaching to the neck. A light run along the slot with a triangular needle file to take the brittle corners off: Fretwire cut to length and de-tanged at the sides: Small bead of Titebond along the tang, then mallet one side, then the other side then the middle. The squeeze-out confirms that the fret has seated: Then wipe off the squeeze-out and clamp a radius block to hold the fret to shape while the titebond hardens: And it really is starting to look like a bass now

Made the cut outs in the template for the two batteries, removed the bulk with a forstner but then tided up with a router. There's two templates for the battery box; one for the main body and one for the rounded top (as I'm recessing this as I think it looks much better that way). Same process is used for the control cavity. I find it useful to have a selection of template cutter bits of differing diameters and lengths for routing these cavities. You can get away with one template cutter and a chisel if needed as the cutters can get pricey (£25+ each). I kept an offcut of the ash from the body and cut a slice off to use for the cavity cover. I've tried to match the grain as much as possible. Next task will be to cut the cover to shape.

Are you getting paid by the click Al? Although I am not interested in discussing brexit any more (just the difficulties it has imposed on me), I didn't find it highly recommended reading, or even particularly insightful, and whether it was the economic editor or something else, it was a set of points that have always been not only true but obvious being used to jump to a conclusion the points didn't indicate (in fact the points point the other way). I can't believe there is a person on the planet that says that the way that the EU has run business has been particularly good, and it is understandable a lot of people have a hard time, but a lot of that article just points to the economic issues in the UK and lays them at the feet of the EU, like the EU was something imposed on us from afar. Far from it, we were one of the big drivers of the economic integration, and had a big say at the table. In the last few years our influence has waned as we elected clowns to represent us who weren't interested in doing the job, only taking the money. To blame the EU for things like low wages and the north south divide, while very convenient for our governments is very easy - these were choices our successive governments made, and by extension, we made. No law says we have to pay farmers nothing or care workers, we liked it because it made our taxes less and we didn't care. The current government seems intent now we are unconnected with the EU to turn the UK into a low tax environment, which means less money for the people who need the help, less money for health and social care etc. That article is written from the point of view of an economic editor - ie, someone at the top of their field who is paid well and is interested in the idea of economics, but not from the point of view of someone wanting to get by. There is nothing he says that is wrong from his point of view, there is nothing in brexit that is going to keep food from his table, and the EU was always viewed here as a right wing thing, the hard left has always wanted to disconnect for protectionism. There is not going to be more money for the people at the bottom from this, there is not going to be more money for health or social care or agriculture or anything the left value, because the people in charge (and him to an extent) don't care about that. Just that there needs to be is irrelevant. Just because care homes need more money now, doesn't mean they are going to get it. They were understaffed before, they will be more understaffed now. Just means the government can get rid of protections to save money. Manufacturing isn't magically going to come back any time soon, there isn't anyone to sell our products to. Brexit is an idiological battle, one that both the left and the right share, but they have very different goals in what they want from it.

This happened while I was away from here. The top is a beautiful piece of camphor burl, the body is walnut. It’s an incredible instrument to play. It features W&T’s moveable pickup system, the wonderfully figured ebony covers for it were crafted by Robin at Manton Customs, who I highly recommended if you want modifications carried out on an instrument.

I can throw some light on the Decimax subject.I designed these amps after leaving my post as Technical director of Trace Elliot.I designed the original Trace Elliots and all subsequent ones up to the mk 5 series. Decimax amps had programmable graphic eq and levels plus a midi interface to control and memorise any external effects along with your chosen eq and level.A separate smaller manual graphic allowed for tweaking to compensate for room acoustics without needing to re programme your settings.Main models were D300 and D600 which were 300 and 600 watts respectively. Speaker cabs were either 1x 15 or 4x10.Both featured rear porting.These amps had no connection with Carlsbro at all and were built at our factory in Essex.

"If it goes pear shaped then you @Jabba_the_gut, @Andyjr1515 et. al. can just build a new neck due to their considerable skill, time spent learning, toolset, innate ability etc. " I think the above is what he actually meant 😉

I totally get it. I grow ever weary of exactly this. The vast majority of bass guitar teachers I've come across (online at least) are obsessed with incessant jazz noodling, which to me is little more than noise pollution, and / or require you to read music, which i have absolutely no interest in or use for. Good luck with the guitar. It's all about enjoying what you're doing.

Although I do play guitar I always describe myself as a bassist that can play guitar, never as a guitarist, bass is my instrument. In my last band I sold my guitars as I wanted to be purely focused on bass and what was needed for it, without any distractions, however now have a few guitars again (2 going up for sale as wanted to find just one that I’d stick with and have, an SG). Wish you well @thebigyin following the inspiration is no bad thing.

15 years ago I'd bought an 8-track cassette portastudio from a bass player friend and the first couple of tunes I recorded on it to test it out ended up on a 45rpm single. The gear I used was a mixture of decent (Gretsch drums, Gibson ES-335 guitar, Hammond organ, '78 Fender Vibro Champ) and not-so-decent (cheapo copy of a Coral Electric Sitar, a Shaftesbury short scale Tele bass copy, a single Radio Shack PZM microphone and a C-90 cassette). I overdubbed all the parts one by one. I'm not Prince obviously, but I can knock out greasy funk tunes. As per my nom de forum it's got a Meters vibe to it and I was recording tons of Meters-y kind of stuff on cassette at the time (2005-6) but this is the only one from then that got a vinyl release at the time. Anyhow, it's Christmas and because I forgot to send any cards out this year, have some greasy funk instead. Greasy funky Christmas everybody! 🎅

I asked the teacher, a full time quality musician and bassist, specifically about expanding my creation of bass lines beyond major and minor scales. I said I have books with all the modes etc and I could parrot fashion learn them but I want to know how and when to deploy them. I sent him recordings of recent gigs so he could hear my playing and so the lesson was geared instead around how I can create more within those songs, study what the original player was playing, get out of bad habits, rather than learn a load of scales and modes and then be more confused about what to play. I've really benefitted from just one hour with a much better bassist, but luckily he is a great communicator too who can quickly understand what I really want to know and how to get there. I don't think a prescribed course would do that for me.

The only thing uncomfortable about that article is that Larry Elliot is employed by anyone to comment on economics, let alone be and Economics Editor. I didn't even bother with him when I did economics at University

I've been enjoying this in the past few months. It isn't going to replace my Shorty for gigging, though it's a staggeringly beautiful instrument in every way and plays superbly well. I haven't tried to record it yet but should have that pleasure in the coming weeks. I'd only really played a Shorty 'til this came along but I can honestly say that it's as good as any bass that I've ever owned or played, and far superior to nearly all (and it's an embarrassingly long list). The craftwork, fit and finish are up there with the world's very best (but then, so are the prices). The solid maple wings alone are a thing of beauty. I'd waited for a long time for a Spector in ultra amber or ultra violet and the finish doesn't disappoint in any way

And this is why I'm a bass player first and foremost. That sound, that vibration, that pulse, it's innate. I love and dabble with many instruments from around the world but bass is the ground, the gut feeling. It can't and won't be denied. Crikey, went off on one there. Good luck anyway thebigyin, pop in and see us now and then 👍

You seem a little dismayed with not achieving much with the Joe Hubbard course. First, I have to preface what I'm going to say by saying that I have mad respect for Joe Hubbard, he's an incredible bassist, and really, there's not much more needs to be said. But I think his courses are aimed at a fairly specific genre of music, and fairly specific skills. There are a lot of good, successful bassists out there who can't do the stuff that JH teaches, and that's OK, because they don't need to. Not trying to talk you out of pursuing guitar - I love guitar as well. But more saying that a course like JH's shouldn't be some benchmark that determines if you're good enough on bass or not, because I don't think that's the case at all. You could reel off a who's who of bassists who can't touch JH, but are still incredibly influential musicians, because they use the bass to speak the music they want to speak. I'm the same as you, always played both, and at present, same as you, I'm more focused on guitar. But I'll regularly pick up bass because it's what I feel at the moment.

I've pretty much always played both, I've never seen it as an either/or situation. At the moment I'm playing more skinny string guitar, but there's always a point where I'll want to add a bassline to whatever I've been doing on the guitar. If I come up with something I like on bass then likewise I'll reach for the guitar to try and build on that. I can't really imagine myself ever quitting one completely to concentrate on the other because I suppose see them as complementary skills, I'd say that being able to add guitar to my bass parts actually enhances my enjoyment of playing bass and vice versa.

This is my Fender Jazz bass, I bought this some 10 years ago it was not in great condition it had been stripped to bear wood..so spend some time getting it professionaly restore fantastic fretboard and good all round bass Please note now sold and pictures removed..July 2021

My favourite album release of 2020 was In Search Of The Lost City Of The Monkey God by The Sorcerers: https://sorcerers.bandcamp.com/album/in-search-of-the-lost-city-of-the-monkey-god https://open.spotify.com/album/2kGJhogMhGMyRiubKx0rlt?si=ZuD4ppoyThWpFwPjRVKbUw It's like a retro jazzy library music soundtrack for a forgotten b-movie, with some lovely tight bass-and-drum grooves. Honourable mentions: stoner/doom Mellified Man by Warrior Pope (Mr Foxen of this parish) https://warriorpope.bandcamp.com/album/mellified-man https://open.spotify.com/album/0dYnZqVsDRLD9PlrLY9og6?si=VbZn4Zk2SGiCoLzE55YBmw Crushingly heavy, tuneful and concise. Viscerals by Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs https://pigspigspigspigspigspigspigs.bandcamp.com/album/viscerals https://open.spotify.com/album/15CVkItclaGrn0xLr16Qw0?si=dOHw9DDjSzKFS6n_CjnQOg Big Sabbathy riffs. Disappointed to have missed them live a couple of times - they're apparently really good. Honourable mentions: surf/instro The Celestial Sounds Of The Space Agency by The Space Agency https://thespaceagency.bandcamp.com/album/the-celestial-sounds-of-the-space-agency Long-awaited collection of vintagey twang and fuzzy psych. And they're also lovely people! 😄 Sunworshipper by The Spiratones https://thespiratones.bandcamp.com/album/sunworshipper Melodic, catchy surf, garage and spy stuff. Hoping to make it up to Ulverston to gig with these lads once things get a bit closer to normal 🤞 Honourable mentions: indie Every Bad by Porridge Radio https://porridgeradio.bandcamp.com/album/every-bad https://open.spotify.com/album/4DN3XbB33kHTJA7HhI0RFI?si=ah4hqgk_SK-mvNW_Fr7Uvg Marmite! I can't decide whether they're interestingly raw and honest, or insufferably arty and bigheaded 🤔 All Or Nothing by Shopping https://shoppingfc.bandcamp.com/album/all-or-nothing https://open.spotify.com/album/3jgAzjCrL8Xf9gXmIyMeQq?si=XiSJFTMxSYiZlj-W6pvULQ I can't resist a bit of wiry post-punk, and this lot do it really well.

Mechanical heavy metal, MECHANICA

My "Rig" the past two years. Dropped my amp and cab and went IEM. No regrets at all

As long as you're still making /playing music, that's the important thing IMHO.. Music is good for the body, mind and soul - I think we can all agree on that? (But it's ever so slightly more beneficial when you're a bass player! 😉😁) Best of luck with it all @thebigyin

There’s a lot of spin going on about just what we can do now we’ve completely left. On the Marr show this morning BJ was asked to give some tangible benefits of Brexit, his reply was that the UK can now have freeports and we’ve banned pulse fishing. We had freeports when we were in the EU, and France banned pulse fishing in 2019. There’s a big deal about ending the ‘Tampon tax’, yet just a few years ago his party - and him - voted against such a measure. It’s politics for people who don’t bother to look deeper into what’s being said, just blithely believe it. The EU wasn’t perfect, nobody said it was. The leave process has so far cost £200 billion, which I’m told is more than we’ve paid in over the forty or so years we were members, and for what? Things we could already have, including blue passports.

Congratulations on the new bass. They're wonderful little things. I've had mine a few years now and it's the happiest instrument I own. I normally play with a trebly, distorted sound, so when I pick up my Hofner I'm about as far away from normal as I can be, but it's such a joy to play and the thump it makes is like nothing else. Mine wears Hofner flats and I've never had any problem with them. Mind you I want that massive bass thump from this bass - no need for top end or sustain here!

That’s fine - as quoted earlier in the thread - if vendors are prepared to sell to the UK. That boutique bass guitar brand may not be available through the likes of The Gallery or Bass Direct any longer. These additional shops you talk of are going to be larger than the small independents... and will ultimately put the latter out of business. Rich will get richer. The poor will be just be thankful for a job. It certainly doesn’t put the EU on a level playing field. The previous deals with the UK with non EU countries were on the basis of the UK being in the EU. When the UK does stupid tricks like making vendors collect VAT on the UKs behalf, well that makes the UK a pain in the backside to deal with. Check back through the thread for the explanations.

Don't forget that you can use your BC login on GuitarChat: Guitarchat - Guitar Forum Home

Nothing wrong with realising your true calling lies elsewhere. Bass is my first instrument tho I’ve been playing guitar for nearly as long, and as circumstances have changed over the years I’ve at times been mainly a guitarist, and at others mainly a bassist. I agree with others tho - don’t feel bad that a tuition course hasn’t appealed to you. I’ve never made any sense of lessons - it’s just not the way the musical bit of my brain works - but it hasn’t stopped me being a good, happy, busy musician. And good luck on the guitar - enjoy it!

Hello All, My Vigier story is quite an unusual one. Some years ago not long after I first started to play bass I tracked down a JD Supernatural to a shop in Birkenhead called Fusion Music. I hadn’t ever seen one in the flesh let alone had the opportunity to buy one, despite them becoming popular off the back of the success of Level 42. I remember travelling with my Dad over the water from Wigan to view and purchase the said JD. Whilst we were in the shop looking at the bass which was on a shelf about 10 feet in the air, we got chatting to a French gentleman who had several flight cases with him. I believe this was early 80’s and may even have been Mr.Vigier himself looking to set up a UK dealer network. He showed me a Vigier Passion bass which I vaguely remember being a red/orange burst. The bass definitely had a full graphite neck and I do remember him eschewing the virtues of the bass for slap styles. I could have bought the bass off him for around the same price as the JD just under £700, but frankly I had no idea what I was looking at. I ended up buying the JD which looking back I probably loved because it was played by Mark King. It was an ok bass but went in trade for a Status a couple of years later. I bet if I’d bought the Vigier I would have saved myself a few quid swapping basses. Not being much of a handy man I have always found myself getting frustrated when having to mess about adjusting truss rods and bridge saddles, I know some folks like it but to me it’s a chore and a waste of playing time. Over the past few weeks I have struggled with the changing temperatures and even though my basses were stored in a stable environment their necks were definitely moving, practically every day. In my frustration I started to look at basses with more stable necks like Spector and Dingwall and came across a shop in Blackburn that had a couple of Vigier basses in stock. From there the research started. I literally scoured the internet and read as much as I could about the brand including several threads on this very site. I couldn’t find any negativity at all (apart from one absurd review in an online bass magazine which slated the build quality and lack of truss rod). After a chat with my lovely long suffering and ever reasonable wife I despatched myself off to Warwick to visit the brilliant Bass Direct to view the only stock Passion bass I could find in the UK. A beautiful blue 5 string. On the snowy drive down I tried to convince myself it was maybe too expensive, it was a 5 string (I haven’t ever kept one for a long period) I should look at other guitars including some Sadowskys, Mayones and maybe the stunning Haynes bass they have in stock. On arrival I was presented with an incredibly beautiful Vigier bass to try through a Genzler rig similar to my own and from there it was game over. I could have bought half of the basses in the shop for what I was going to shell out for the Vigier, minus the p/ex on my own basses of course. Needless to say I didn’t even look at the extensive range of drool worthy items on display. Initial impressions are very positive. The sound is not really what I am I used to hearing having played wooden necked Jazz bass variants in the main with a couple of exceptions, but it’s a really amazing tone especially with both pickups engaged, when it seems to have a real growl. This is my favourite setting for both finger playing and slap. I have been worried about the low B but I needn’t have been, not only does it sound clear as a bell I am enjoying using it as it never sounds at all woolly. Sorry for the long post, I sincerely hope that the Vigier remains in my possession for a very long time as I can’t imagine that there is much better out there in terms of quality of build or tone. The look won’t be to everyone’s taste but I find it quite refreshing and faithful to the ‘one that got away’ all those years ago. My very best wishes to you all for the year ahead.

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and having a good chat with him. He is a genuinely warm and generous spirit.

Hi. Haven’t talked about my friend Wayne braithwaite in years. For those of you who don’t know,Wayne,myself another brother named victor and Alex all started playing together around the same time. The first band Wayne was in was with us four. We were known as BLACK GOLD. We were all just starting high school. I’m Perry the guitarist. All of us lived on Greene avenue in Brooklyn except victor who was the drummer. We spent many evenings in all of our basements practicing and making music together. We went to Bushwick high school on Irving ave. So if there’s anybody out there who wants to know anything about Wayne’s humble beginnings I’m sure the person to ask. He was exceptionally good and went on to levels I never imagined when we first started playing instruments. I haven’t seen or talked to Alex in years. He was the lead singer and percussionist. I believe he lives in North Carolina now. And sadly victor passed away along time ago as well. Before Wayne I believe. Anyway if anybody out there reading this would like to ask me anything please feel free to do so.

Power Up by AC/DC, great to see them back and a great album.

More work progress on Marks ZB-1000 Zoot bass. The neck is now finished and ready to fit and have the top nut cut. Here are some pictures and a quick mock up of the body and full bass. Not long now and this will be making it's way to a new home.

Only just realised tonight that the bassist on this song was also the vocalist. No idea why I've never twigged, as I remember hearing the bass line 100's of times on the radio but I always imagined that being of that era the vocalist would have been someone chosen from maybe session singers from that genre. Has anyone else ever been surprised in a similar way, especially by something that they may have been familiar with?

+1. The good thing about using a preamp pedal and a powered PA speaker (aka "FRFR") is that the powered speaker is acoustically transparent, i.e. it doesn't contribute or affect your tone in any way. The tone comes only from the preamp pedal; I'm currently using a Mojomojo (£40). If I decide I don't like the tone, swapping the pedal is cheap and easy compared to replacing a head or cab. Or get a Helix...

Wait until the plateau arrives, and then you will start to question if the guitar is for you in the same way that you questioned about the bass. It won't always be about progressing. I get the feeling that the underlying reason for you playing bass/guitar is only to achieve something with it rather than to simply enjoy the process. The bass or guitar is just a vehicle for you. That's where you're going wrong. At the end of the day it sounds like this instrument switching is about frustration rather than some deeply felt realisation.

I think you learn a lot more by having to research (on the net or otherwise) what you need to learn, and then forming your own practice plan. I believe these hand holding courses are mostly a waste, and are only useful to certain people.

It's all very well saying that it will be more economical to support local musical instrument retailers, but remember that the vast majority of musical equipment isn't made in the UK and those items which are, rely on lots of imported parts. And while there's a lot of love for the mainstream brands, Basschat is also the supporter of plenty of small niche ones too. It looks as though, for a lot of them selling to the UK for the moment will simply be too much hassle. That's certainly what people with first-hand experience are reporting in this thread. Interesting times (in the Chinese sense if the phrase) ahead.

I use a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 with my iPad Pro. It’s bus powered but doesn’t seem to drain the iPad battery too much.

Was looking for a P bass, 65-66 probably in budget, Earlier If beat up more! I found ppl would help with “book price” valuations but actual asking places would be far over that

Went down a similar route a good number of years back, and got sucked down the rabbit hole of GAS. Shame I never was never that good a guitarist really. I'm a bass player that dabbles with guitars, still have them, still play them (occasionally), and it took that foray into the guitar world that cemented my love of playing bass. Knowing some of the guitar stuff has helped my bass playing no end, especially in terms of playing to the song and listening to what the other musicians are doing. Enjoy your time away, but you'll be back.

Do what you're enjoying the most! I came very close to knocking guitar on the head a few months back to be a "pure" bassist then had an idea, recorded it with a few different guitar tracks and I am glad I didn't sell off my electric guitar and related other gear. For me these things go in cycles, I bet if you pick up your bass again in a few months time the guitar experience will give you a new perspective, and isn't that what life is about? Know what you mean about endless drills. Had my first ever lesson after 21yrs playing last month and though I'd asked for drills and theory I was told words to the effect you can pick up what you need to know by playing different and interesting songs that you like. Any other theory stuff might not be that useful to you. And after one inspirational lesson I agree!

[Mod's Hat On] Strike One ... We're wavering on the cusp of another Lockdown. Stop picking the scabs, and stay on the Topic, please. [/Mod's Hat On]

Thanks everyone. I'm sure it would be a simple fix, I've just put it off for years and years. Partly cos I don't really know a good amp tech in the Glasgow area and partly cos I was unaware of the truly superhuman customer services of ashdown I keep hearing about. I will be in touch with them soon I assure you, no more procrastination!

I had to list my top ten albums for PopMatters- an online music magazine I write for. I don't think it was a vintage year for music -no surprise there- but there were some fantastic records released. 1. Jayhawks XOXO 2. Kevin Godley: Muscle Memory 3. Captain Wilberforce: When the Dust Just Won’t Settle 4. Dream Syndicate: The Universe Inside 5. Ben Watt: Storm Damage 6. Anton Barbeau: Manbird 7. Bob Mould: Blue Hearts 8. Erik Hall: Music for 18 Musicians 9. Squirrel Flower: I was Born Swimming 10. Spygenius: Man on the Sea

I had a subscription to this Output Arcade. Basically if you cancel, you can use the VST (fully functioning) as a playback only device, you cannot record any more stuff with it (until you resubscribe). I was impressed using it for the first 5 minutes, but then quickly got very bored of it. I'm sure it's delightful for 1 key EDM and other similar genres - but it wasn't for me.

It's OK to use a pick, honestly!

This early Christmas present landed on my doorstep on Christmas Eve....a Spector Euro4 Classic ( lefty ). I'm usually a Fender guy, but loving the Spector, i haven't put it down since it arrived. Think it could become my new main gigging bass when we're allowed to get back out there 👍